Tongue weight on an R29 CB

[Alpina]

My trailer is still being built for our 2021 R29S so I can not comment about towing it. But I have 10 years experience loading a 240 Sea Ray Sundancer and a R25SC on bunk trailers. I found that Liquid Rollers sprayed or brushed onto the bunks made them much more slippery and lasted for years. Its not inexpensive, but I will also have my new trailer bunks sprayed with Liquid Rollers based on my past experience.

That stuff scares me 🙂. A bunch of the top reviews on Amazon state how their boat fell off the trailer onto the ramp because they disconnected the winch strap when backing down the ramp. How often did you apply it? Some reviews stated that it only lasted a few months per application.


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[S. Todd]

Liquid Rollers makes the bunks slippery but not that slippery that I would be concerned about the boat sliding around. I used roller trailers for 25 years before the last 10 years of bunk trailers and trust me the roller trailers will allow a boat to roll on and off much better than the bunk trailers (I used to easily get the boat to roll back a few inches to wax under the rollers by braking slightly while going in reverse - no way the boat will slide back that easily with a bunk trailer with Liquid Rollers). Why anyone would disconnect the winch strap before the boat is in the water is totally beyond me, but you can not stop stupid. Nevertheless, I would not expect a boat as heavy as ours to slide off the trailer unless you slammed on the brakes while backing down. After loading our R25SC we had to do the famed "Ranger Slide" to get the boat all the way forward to the bow stop and it took a fair amount of braking effort to accomplish that slide even with the liquid rollers. We always stored our boat in a temperature controlled garage. The boat would only come off the trailer a few times a year for a few weeks at a time. Under those conditions, I would get three years between re-applications of the liquid rollers. The bunks still felt slippery to the touch so I don't know that it was necessary, but a light re-spray is not difficult to do.

 

[S@LTD]

My boat is not quite as heavy as you but we launch and recover our boat several times in any given month during the boating season (sometimes multiple times a week).Because of that we would wear through the carpeted bunks even with liquid roller in about a months time. We replaced the carpeted bunks with Gatorbak synthetic bunk covers. That was two years ago and they are going strong. They are supposed to have a 3 yr warranty so I am definitely putting that to the test.

It really helped eliminate the final dreaded 4 inches up to the winch stop except for the more steeper ramps. Once per season I spray liquid roller on them. When they are dry I can completely disconnect the boat at waters edge when launching and the boat doesn’t even think to budge. Often I still have to give it some juice to back off the trailer. Loading is a dream as I always drive on except now it requires very little throttle to push right up to the stop. If the ramp is steep it helps to have someone connect the strap otherwise leaving in gear idling holds it there while I do it. They are much more slippery when wet.

If you only launch a couple times a year and don’t mind doing the Ranger bump on the ramp to slide the boat forward then it’s probably not worth the investment. For me it has solved my loading issues and it no longer sounds like I’m gouging the bottom of the boat when driving on.

 

[Alpina]

My boat is not quite as heavy as you but we launch and recover our boat several times in any given month during the boating season (sometimes multiple times a week).Because of that we would wear through the carpeted bunks even with liquid roller in about a months time. We replaced the carpeted bunks with Gatorbak synthetic bunk covers. That was two years ago and they are going strong. They are supposed to have a 3 yr warranty so I am definitely putting that to the test.

It really helped eliminate the final dreaded 4 inches up to the winch stop except for the more steeper ramps. Once per season I spray liquid roller on them. When they are dry I can completely disconnect the boat at waters edge when launching and the boat doesn’t even think to budge. Often I still have to give it some juice to back off the trailer. Loading is a dream as I always drive on except now it requires very little throttle to push right up to the stop. If the ramp is steep it helps to have someone connect the strap otherwise leaving in gear idling holds it there while I do it. They are much more slippery when wet.

If you only launch a couple times a year and don’t mind doing the Ranger bump on the ramp to slide the boat forward then it’s probably not worth the investment. For me it has solved my loading issues and it no longer sounds like I’m gouging the bottom of the boat when driving on.

Happy New Year. I have been looking at a number of synthetic bunk covers. I had that with with last boat/trailer and they worked well. They came standard with the trailer so I am not sure what brand they used. For some reason, many of the ones I've been looking at stated that they are for aluminum hulls only, including the EZ-Loader brand. I also looked at the Gatorbak. My trailer is configured with a long set of bunks toward the outside of the trailer, and another set towards the inside and closer to the front. Did you install the Gatorbak's on all bunks? The full length? Did you remove the carpeting?

Franco

 

[serpa4]

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[S@LTD]

Yes I did all the bunks and new wood while I was at it. My trailer was used (3 yr old EZ Loaader) when we bought the boat new. Initially I put new carpet but it was short lived given my use. Also, I had a couple minor soft spots on the wood so rather than try to pull out all the staples and worry about the potential for wood rot it seemed easier to just start new.

You are correct that not all synthetic bunk covers are the same and many are just for aluminum hulls. The Gatorbaks are much softer (and thicker). I have yet to see any scaring.

I like these so much I put them on our ski boat too. The water in our waterski lake is very hard with a high mineral content (and perhaps some sediment). After only a few months (avg loadings 3 days a week) the carpet would absorb all of this and start scuffing the hull. I just gave away a big roll of marine bunk carpet as I longer have to re do my bunks annually. I doubt I will carpet again.

 

[Alpina]

Closing the loop on this thread. I posted in the TugNuts Facebook group but didn't know who from this forum also followed that one:

Boat.
2019 R29-CB
110 gallons of diesel
10 gallons of water
15ish gallons of black water
Normal amount of stuff on the boat for single night overnighting.

Truck
2017 F350 SRW Long Bed 4x4 Diesel
Empty weight 9000lbs. I have a aluminum bed cover where I can load two ATVs so that adds a little bit of weight to the truck.
1/2 tank (24 gallon) fuel
My wife and I
11,400 GVWR
18,000 lbs hitch towing capacity.
I installed a device that lets me operate the trailer (or any) camera while underway. I use the trailer camera to see if someone is behind the boat about to zip into the lane I’m trying to change into. Another topic but a great add-on.

Trailer
Stock FM offered trailer.
CAT Scale Results
5040 front axle weight
5060 rear axle weight
14650 trailer axle weight
~1000 tongue weight

Well within capacity limits if the truck
I’ve been wanting to get the rig to a scale for some time but just got around to it. Hope this helps others trying to decide if their set up can tow an R29. Would be close with an F250 based on GVWR and payload. Tows so well that at one point my wife commented that she forgot we were towing the boat … she clearly wasn’t driving.

 

[Her Choice Ranger 29]

Late to the discussion but for archival purposes. I will reply if it helps anyone down the road. I have a 2019 R29CB on a 2024 Float-On Pioneer trailer, 6 lug axles. I use a WeighSafe hitch with the load cell gauge after talking to a few people who like them. One guy has them on all their work trucks. Periodically clean the load cell with a rag and don't blow the loadcell by drastically overloading trailer and they will last a long time. As expected since these are cad designed for the boat right from the factory my tongue load is anywhere from 1200 to 1500 pounds when fully loaded. Closer to 1400 than 1500. No need for gliders on the bunks either. I can usually get it to a foot or so from the bow stop at the launch. I then set my trailer gain to 10 and bring truck of to a little, I said little speed momentum and tap the manual brake and truck brake and I can get the boat to slide forward to the bow stop no problem. I use two HD straps on the bow and a strap with pads over the transom when towing. Trailer came with guide rails but I take them off when I an doing long distance transports as they make the trailer at knee height 11 wide. Construction zones get really skinny. With them off the boat and trailer are no wider than my 1 ton dually is up to chest high (guard rail-traffic barrel-concrete safety blocks) and I find I am much more comfortable passing through construction zones. Have not actually weighed trailer axles yet as weigh stations have all been closed but I should be near 15000 fully loaded with gear, fuel and water. I don't mind towing fully loaded as it does not change my fuel mileage on the truck one bit.

Tire TPS, yes. I put them on all my trailers. The one I use for this is the TireMinder with the booster antenna mounted near the back of the truck. I have had three flats already this year. First one was on day one towing the boat back from Mass to Michigan. picked up a nail. TPMS let me know I had a leak before it blew and I had time to find a safe place to quickly change the tire. I carry a 20 ton hydraulic jack in my trailer tow box. If you put TPMS valve stems on, I suggest changing to steel valves as the rubber can bend and cut and leak after a hard bump especially on galvanized wheels as they tend to have rough edges in the valve stem hole. I now carry two spares instead of one.

Hard to find a good used 1 ton but I was very lucky and found a new F350 dually gasser with the 7.3. Not a diesel but I don't have the Bosch fuel pump issues with a gasser and it tows great so far. I have towed the r29 a couple thousand miles so far and my towing average is 6.5 and non towing is getting up to mid 13. so a fuel stop every 200 miles leaves me with about 50 miles in reserve towing.

Permits are a pain, especially Ohio, PA, Kentucky, and New York and I have had to use a permit service like JJ Keller for a couple states that just were too difficult to deal with individually. But I want to keep my rig, house and boat if I am involved in a crash even if not my fault. Limit your liability expose as everyone wants to sue now regardless. Towing the R29 really gives us limitless places to travel.

 

[Toucan]

We tow a R-27 Classic on a 2 axle EzLoader trailer behind a Ford F-250 diesel pickup. We tried to measure the weight on each of the trailer axle by having each axle on a separate section of a Cat Scale. We got different numbers depending on which pair of the three scales we used and which direction the rig was headed. We did get separate axle weigh measurements at an Escapees RV park, as we are members in that organization. The front axle was substantially more heavily loaded than the rear axle. If you look at the aluminum frame, it is a big banana. the easy option was to raise the height of the ball. However, had we done that, we would not have been able to lower the tailgate all the way down and the backup camera lens would have been the first thing to hit. We put thick shims under the rear axle where it attaches to the trailer frame to increase its load, but have not been able to get each axle reweighed again to verify how evenly balanced the axles are now. If you just need to lower the tongue weight a small amount, you can move the boat back a couple of inches. But don't get the tongue too light or it will get unstable.

Barry Thompson
TOUCAN, R-27 Classic

 

[scross]

Remember that you want the trailer frame parallel to the ground. Tongue down and you are overloading the front trailer axle. Trailer tongue up and you are overloading the rear axle.
The 10% of gross towed weight being the target is fine for a single axle trailer but not a triple axle. Call your trailer manufacturer to be sure but they will probably say you should have a tongue weight of 7-9 percent of the gross towed weight.
If you tow the dinghy on davits it will make your rig a bit more unstable. Makes it feel like the tongue weight is less. For long distance towing (50+ miles or so) get the dinghy off the swim platform.
Towed our C-28 250 miles today from Port McNeill to Vancouver. Tomorrow it’s 595 miles of towing through Seattle, Tacoma and Portland to southern Oregon. The C-28 tows like a dream. Dinghy in p/u bed. We are just a smidgen under 7% gross towed weight of 12,600 pounds.